Good ol' Utah

So here we are.  And it is plenty cold.  Granted I am a baby when it comes to the cold.  But it feels cold to me.  The highlight of the move has been a Grandma and a Grandpa nearby.  The lowlight has been the fact that the kids have been sick since the middle of December.   I think we have picked up our third bug, so we haven't been able to visit any cousins.  Bummer. Welcome to Utah I guess.  

On our list of things to do was buy a car and a house.  One down, one to go.  The new car takes a little stress off, knowing that we can fit our family into the car when the new baby comes.  The new baby may be trying to come a bit early, so we are taking it as easy as possible.  As much as I don't like being pregnant, 31 weeks is not enough time in the oven for this little guy.  We are adjusting to Utah the best we can.  Garrett has broken my heart a couple of times.  He couldn't find me, so he went into his room and cried.  When I found him in there he said, "Dis make me so sad mom, I so sad." The lip quivers and it just breaks your heart.  So he and Molly are adjusting the best they can.  We are headed to the BYU game today...if all else fails, watch a little basketball!  Maybe Cosmo will cheer the kiddos up a bit.  

Going Private

This blog is going private.  If you for some reason want to keep in touch, email me at lobaxter@yahoo.com or just leave a comment with your email.  

The Move

Christmas is fast approaching and so is our move.  It has all happened very quickly, which is probably good so I don't have much time to think about it.  We will miss our Moonlight Beach, but I also love my mountains.  

Here is my Top 5 miss list:

-My sister and fam.  :-(

-The climate, (Molly complaining she was hot yesterday cause she was wearing long sleeves)

-Trader Joe's, no really, this is a tough one for me.

-Plumeria, hibiscus, etc...March is incredible here...the smells, the beauty...

-Our friends

Here is my Top 5 NOT miss list:

-the rate that MOLD grows here...ug

-the taste of the water...seriously...it is bad

-traffic...actually not that bad...just random times(I hate unpredictable traffic)

-Molly in full day Kindergarten, and her teacher was fantastic

-hmmm, can't think of a 5th one.  We really enjoyed it here...oh wait, Sam's job. :-) That is why we are moving in the first place. :-)

So on we go.  Transitions are hard, but this one is needed.  We just hope the kids will do well, especially with the new baby on the way...this will be a big couple of months for all.  We have enjoyed our time here.  We met many wonderful people who have touched our lives forever. And nothing beats being able to take the kids to the park(with cousins!) in February in jackets.  

But, we are excited for Sam as he starts at a different place.  We are excited for the people we will meet.  We are excited to be around even more family.  And I am just trying to hide my distaste for the cold so my kids will think it is great.  :-)  So catch the next post, coming live from P-P-P-R-O    O-O-O-V-O   P-R-O   O-V-O  PRRRRROOOOOVVVVOOOOO!  (Only those who went to Provo High or played against PHS will know that cheer.)

Christmas Tradition

I love Christmas traditions...but one that I hope will become permanent in our family is the one we just did tonight at the nursing home.  We have done it the last couple of years originally with the youth in our ward.  It was a youth activity, but I brought the kids along for fun.  Well, the kiddos were a hit.  Old people love young people.  They love watching Garrett be out of control and just jump everywhere he goes.  They love the energy.  They loved all the songs from the youth.  They loved the two little ones as they got up and held hands and sang Rudolph with Garrett interjecting a few words here and there and a loud Ho, Ho, Ho and Molly singing loud and proud.  They all got a kick out of it.  They all get a little gift and a hello and Merry Christmas from a youth in our ward, and hopefully don't get hit by the crazy Garrett running around everywhere.  But it was a joy, to see a little joy in those old eyes.  Those eyes that have seen a lot in this world, and now who are stuck in a nursing home during the holidays.  It is memorable for our little family, and reminds us of our blessings.  So...go visit a nursing home.  Take your crazy kids...they will love them!  :-)

My Favorite Holiday...

I have always loved Thanksgiving.  I think that it is my obsession with food.  And when else can you fill a plate up with every kind of pie...and it is normal.  I love it.  I love focusing on our gratitude.  And I am grateful for so much.  Top of the list of course are my family and lately, the clear perspective the gospel brings.  We hit traffic on the way up to Orange County yesterday and Molly said in all sincerity, "Wow, there are a LOT of people going to Debbie's house."(My cousin who we spent the holiday with)  Then Garrett at the end of a drive that took twice the time it should have said, "Can I come too, pease?" and when we got him out of seat, he said, "Oh fank you Daddy, fank you!"  I was laughing pretty hard on our way in as I thought of my two year old thinking we drove an hour and a half for nothing and he was SO grateful that he didn't have to stay in his seat anymore.   We had a great time, and it was finished off with a little ukulele playing with my cousin.  I know Grandma was smiling down on us all.  :-)  Here is a little taste of our 1st Annual Family Thanksgiving Play.  It consisted of Molly pretending to be the Turkey, Sam pretending to be the Farmer and Garrett the Fireman coming to save the Turkey's life.  Here are a few songs from the "production."

Happy Birthday Molly Ann!

Our Molly turned the big 5!  She was ridiculously excited for her birthday party(meaning we had been talking about it for 6 months, seriously, I had to make a rule finally that we would talk about all her "plans" after Halloween, because it was getting to be too much).  Anyway, I think after all the hype, she still had a great time.  They earned their cowgirl(and cowboy) attire by participating in the "apple catch"(the game morphed from bobbing for apples to apples hanging on a string because of some logistics), barrel racing(or garbage can racing), lasso the pony, and horse, horse, pony(duck, duck goose...but Molly changed it to horse, horse, unicorn minutes before the party started).  They had a great time we think...and I am still laughing at how much ALL the girls became obsessed with the Snow Queen outfit that Logan got her.  

We sure love our Molly.  She is generous, smart, kind, loving, a great big sister, sensitive, and wants to do what's right.  I have especially been proud of her as she started into school, and is learning to read.  She is growing up very quickly.  Crazy stuff.

Happy Halloween

We went trick or treating at Sea World today.  When I told Molly, she asked, very genuinely, "Are we going to trick or treat for fish?"  :-)  Pretty cute.  Garrett of course wanted to wear a hat to be like the very scary pumpkin head in "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything" book.  But we didn't have a top hat, so he resorted to Dad's ski helmet.  :-) The song they are singing is from some I taught Molly's kindergarten class, and Garrett has picked it up too.